Outgoing college student Ikumi heads home for the summer, where he meets Harukiyo, a shy gardener with a soft spot for house plants.

Despite seeming totally resistant to Ikumi’s charms, Harukiyo eventually admits his attraction to Ikumi, and Ikumi is surprised to discover he feels the same way about Harukiyo! At summer’s end, the pair embark on their first long-distance relationship…

Once reunited, Ikumi and Harukiyo stumble together through the early stages of their newfound romance, tripping over the stark differences in their personalities. Can a blossoming love between a shining star and a prickly hedgehog go the distance?

—TOKYOPOP

I’m going to come right out and call this manga adorable. Ikumi is so cute with how prickly and flustered he gets. Meanwhile Ikumi is the cool kid, Mr. Popular, and handsome…

So handsome that Harukiyo has a little bit of a complex about it. When he and Ikumi first meet, things are off to an awkward start.

As far as Ikumi knows, Harukiyo is a gardener under his mom’s employ at their house, and nothing more. But Ikumi slowly becomes more obsessed with Harukiyo because of his behavior–particularly his reactions to speaking to Ikumi. The only time Harukiyo is composed around Ikumi is when he is talking about plants (and conveniently only looking at plants while he’s talking). Otherwise Harukiyo avoids Ikumi or is very short with him, and Ikumi can’t help but take this personally.

One day, he finally gets his answer as to why Harukiyo’s been acting this way:

There’s more to Harukiyo’s answer than just “I just…your face…” but I don’t want to spoil it because it’s just so cute!

Anyway, as the official summary of the manga says, this odd-but-gorgeous couple gets together, but Ikumi has to go back to Tokyo and leave the countryside behind, and that means Harukiyo, too. They agree to do a long-term relationship, which has challenges of its own, but the couple remain devoted to each other, even when there are misunderstandings afoot.

In terms of the art of this BL, I really like the character design of Harukiyo especially. He’s supposed to be the “prickly hedgehog” of the story–cute but spiky, lol. I think that’s communicated well through the drawing of Harukiyo’s hair, piercings, and facial expressions in particular.

Ikumi is the darling star boy, and I think his design works well to that effect. He’s handsome, with light hair (not sure if it’s blond or something close to it), and good style. You can tell why he’s so popular just by looking at him, and he’s used to being able to talk to and make friends with anyone. And that’s why it’s so fun to see Harukiyo trip him up.

There’s a spin-off manga coming up called Fox and Puppy that releases in three days on December 9, featuring Harukiyo’s quirky and outspoken brother, Akihiko. I don’t know if Harukiyo and Ikumi will make an appearance in it or not, but I hope so. Akihiko does make a brief appearance in Star and Hedgehog as a nosy older brother.

This is a slice-of-life BL for mature readers that hits the sweet spot if you’re looking for something cute and fun. I enjoyed myself as I read it, and really liked the appearance of this odd, mismatched-but-not couple. I recommend this one for casual BL fans as well as hardcore, but I think if you’re setting your foot in the realm of mature BL for the first time, you can’t go wrong with starting with Star and Hedgehog.

---

Star and Hedgehog is currently available both in digital and physical formats. They are available at a wide variety of bookstores but are also sold direct from TOKYOPOP. Star and Hedgehog released October 21, 2025. The spin-off manga Fox and Puppy releases December 9, 2025.